Fibrous-filtration-face-masks are well known in the respiratory art. Such face masks are worn over the breathing passages of a person and typically serve at least one of two purposes: (1) to prevent impurities or contaminants from entering the wearer's breathing tract; and (2) to protect others from being exposed to bacteria and other contaminants exhaled by the wearer. In the first situation, the mask would be worn in an environment where the air contains particles harmful to the wearer. In the second situation, the mask would be worn, for example, in an operating room to protect a patient from infection.
Fibrous-filtration-face-masks have been made from thermally bonding fibers. Thermally bonding fibers bond to adjacent fibers after being heated and cooled. Examples of face masks formed from such fibers are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,807,619 and 4,536,440. The face masks disclosed in these patents are cup-shaped masks that have at least one layer of thermally bonding fibers. The layer of thermally bonding fibers is termed a "shaping layer" and is used to provide shape to the mask and support for a filtration layer. Relative to the filtration layer, the shaping layer may reside on an inner portion of the mask (adjacent to the face of the wearer), or it may reside on an outer portion or on both inner and outer portions of the mask. Typically, the filtration layer resides outside the inner shaping layer.
The shaping layers disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,807,619 and 4,536,440 have been made by molding non-woven webs of thermally bonding fibers in heated molds. The heated molds operate at temperatures above a softening point of the bonding component of the thermally bonding fibers. A web of thermally bonding fibers is placed in a heated mold and is subjected to pressure and heat to form a shaping layer for a face mask. This kind of molding operation is known as a "hot molding process".
There have been complaints from persons who have worn face masks made by hot molding non-woven webs of thermally bonding fibers. The wearers have indicated that the masks contain fuzz which touches the wearers' face and creates a tickling sensation, making them want to scratch that area of their face. If the mask is being worn to protect wearers from breathing impurities in the air or to protect others from infection, it becomes problematic for wearers to displace the mask from their face to relieve the itching sensation. Wearers must tolerate the itching sensation or risk exposing themselves or others to potentially dangerous substances. The present invention is directed to providing shaping layers for face masks which have improved surface fuzz properties.